UCTP Taino News - The United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP) has added Facebook to its internet communications network. In its effort to increase the visibility of Taino and other Caribbean Indigenous Peoples, the Confederation continues to devote attention to the development of its online outreach capabilities.

“Along with ongoing development of our web portal at www.uctp.org, we have been making use of internet resources like Blogger, Yahoo, You Tube, My Space,and now Facebook to expand our outreach potential.” stated Ericc Ausubonex Diaz, the UCTP Director of Technology.

“While the UCTP Facebook page has a little catching up to do with the pages on other networks, the trends are indicating that online social networks are becoming a more important source of media communication.” observed Diaz.

Beyond social networks, the Confederation is looking towards improvements on its webportal, the acquisition of its own dedicated server, and being involved in some ground-breaking technology initiatives with other indigenous partners. As part of the International Indigenous ICT Taskforce (IITF), the UCTP is the Caribbean content editor for www.indigenousportal.com.

Through its participation with the IITF, the Confederation is also supporting the campaign for a self-governing domain name for Indigenous Peoples. The “Dot Indigi” campaign a partnership between the IITF and the New Zealand Maori Internet Society(NZMIS) with the conditional support of World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) . The aim is to assist Indigenous Peoples around the world to be represented on the Internet in a space that is self governing, representative and restrictive of Intellectual Property abuses.

“The internet and the online revolution is here whether our communities are prepared for it or not” noted Diaz. “Recognizing this reality, the UCTP will continue to use internet and communications technologies as our ancestors have used other tools for the benefit of our people and all our relations.”